Tony Randel Movies

It would seem that the producers of the made-for-cable chiller Rattled had not only used Joseph Gilmore's novel Rattlers as their inspiration, but had also supped full of such horror movies as Poltergeist and Arachnophobia. The scene is Eden Valley, a luxurious housing development carved from a mountainous wilderness by architect Paul Donohue (William Katt). But things are hardly Eden-like in the valley (or, on second thought, perhaps they are!) when the development is suddenly invaded by a swarm of deadly rattlesnakes. Guilt-ridden by the realization that this serpentine invasion has been brought about by the explosives used to excavate the valley, Donohue takes it upon himself to stop the snakes -- and to overcome his mortal terror of the slimy predators. Rattled debuted February 14, 1996, on the USA network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in a post-WWIII world, this action fantasy centers on the deadly struggle between a great warrior and the villainous overlord who stole the warrior's lover and brutally murdered his father. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This stylish chiller tells the grim tale of a sleeping vampire, Czakyr, who is inadvertently awakened when his ancient crypt beneath a church is flooded. At the same time, Cindy and Lucy, two teenage girls, prepare to go to college. Cindy is only visiting the town while Lucy is a local. Just before they go, the girls must go for a late night dip in the flooded crypt as this is a local rite of passage. Unfortunately, Lucy's cross falls from her neck and the blood-thirsty Czakyr attacks her while Lucy escapes. Later Father Frank Aldin informs his pal Mark Garnener, a teacher, that Cindy has become a vampire and has made her mother Karen a bloodsucker too. Frank has captured the two and locked them in a room. He feeds them on blooded leeches. Mark decides to investigate this wild claim and with Lucy returns to her home town and finds that most of the residents have become Czakyr's minions. They capture the two invaders, but the two manage to get away. The town drunk, piloting a religious van, picks up the fleeing couple and takes them to an abandoned lumber mill. That night Cindy visits Lucy and asks her to help destroy Czakyr. Lucy has already killed her mother. The next morning Mark and the drunk find that Lucy has disappeared. They race to town to save her and embark upon their final confrontation with the evil bat man and in the end, good does indeed triumph over evil but not before much blood is spilled. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Horror fantasist Clive Barker, director of the original Hellraiser, maintained creative control over this worthy sequel as executive producer, but was unable to occupy the director's chair due to his involvement on other projects. His creative touch is still quite evident here, as the original film's story is expanded in scope and intensity. The story picks up immediately after the events of the original, with the mentally unbalanced Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) confined to a mental hospital after her experiences in the hellish domain of the grotesque Cenobites, which included the gruesome death of her father. Her case attracts the attention of hospital director Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham), whose marked interest in her story has more than a little to do with his research into the occult. The chief focus of this extracurricular activity seems centered on his impressive collection of puzzle boxes, many of which are versions of the Lament Configuration -- the device which opens the gateway to the Cenobites' dimension. To further realize his diabolical obsession, Channard conducts grisly human sacrifices to resurrect the body of Kirsty's evil stepmother, Julia (Clare Higgins) -- who has literally been through hell and back. He also recruits mute autistic patient Tiffany (Imogen Boorman), an expert at solving puzzles, to decipher the correct version of the box.

Haunted by visions of her mutilated father suffering in hell, Kirsty joins Tiffany in hopes of rescuing him from the Cenobites' dimension. Tiffany gains them access to the portal, and they make the nightmarish journey down the corridors of hell. Narrowly escaping the diabolical Pinhead (Doug Bradley), they come face to face with Julia, who has already handed Dr. Channard over to the Cenobites to be transformed into a hideous new creation. First-time director Tony Randel acquits himself nicely, and seems to have a real flair for the surreal material; the script by longtime Barker collaborator Peter Atkins elaborates on elements only hinted at in its predecessor. It should follow that the slightly larger budget would allow ample room for this expansion, but the production values actually appear somewhat slimmer. What the film lacks in refined style it makes up for in utter dementia, particularly in its depiction of graphic bloodletting -- numerous scenes were trimmed or deleted altogether in order to obtain an R rating from the MPAA. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Low-budget and cheap, the sci-fi adventure Space Raiders liberally raided Star Wars and the previous Roger Corman film Battle Beyond the Stars for scenes of special effects once, twice, three times, and more. The story, also cribbed from Star Wars is about a Col. Hawkins or "Hawk" (Vince Edwards) who has to defeat the "Company" and their massive robot ship in order to bring a young boy back to his home planet. A Star Wars bar scene has a space creature hooker looking great until she turns around and shows her face. Aside from the familiar content in this film, there are continuity gaps that make wounds miraculously jump from one side of the body to the other and do not connect the special effects in space with the space travelers inside the ships. Perhaps the title should have been "Spacy Raiders." ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide